Not Exempt
by Neutral Party
Summary: He finally said it. He finally worked up the courage to confess all these feelings he had bottled up inside, and-


This one-shot will likely upset or annoy some people since it brings to light the problems I have with the Vanilla Butter pairing (as well as other Sugar Rush racers). This doesn't mean that the pairing would never work, just that it isn't so believable in my eyes. If you are fine with this, read on. It's not even a hate fic by any means. You could think of it as simply one-sided on Rancis' part.

* * *

He finally said it. He finally worked up the courage to confess all these feelings he had bottled up inside, and-

"Sorry, Rancis," Vanellope said meekly, then turned her gaze to the side. There was this feeling of her stomach being tied in knots that she couldn't shake. It's not that she hated Rancis or anything. Heck, she helped him build a new kart and everything, and yet, "I just don't think it would work out between us."

"Bu- What? Why?" Rancis asked. He was hurt. Who wouldn't be after pouring their heart out to someone, only to have their affections turned down? He needed to know why. Sure he was kind of mean to her in the past, but if he had known what he knows NOW, then things would have been different!

"Rancis, I like you as a friend. I do," Vanellope said as she sighed heavily. The weight of her answer only just hit her, and she fought the urge to cry at the thought of losing one of her new friends, "but the way I've been treated in the past? I don't think you truly understand just what exactly you guys did to me for 15 years."

"W-we didn't know-" How could they have known she was really the princess, a racer, one of them? All they knew was that Turbo, disguised as King Candy, said that she was dangerous and could never be allowed to race.

"I know, Rancis," Vanellope said as she became slightly frustrated with her inability to spell it out clearly. This situation, for one, was entirely new to her and she didn't want to lose such an important friend. Especially not over something like this. She stroked her forehead with the tips of her fingers. "That does NOT exempt you from the reality of what you guys did. Sure, Turbo tricked you guys into thinking I would get the game unplugged if I raced, but from what I can tell, he never outright told you guys to bully me." The thought of bringing up HIM of all people made the knots in her stomach tighten. It was sickening to her, doing anything that even slightly resembled defending that man... That monster.

Rancis didn't know what to do. How to respond to what she was saying. Vanellope was right. He knew it. She knew it. He and the other racers had bullied her for 15 years with no feelings of remorse until after the fact. They didn't feel bad about it at the time. Why would they? They were protecting the world from a dangerous glitch. It had never even occurred to them to be her friend instead of ostracize her. She was dangerous. Below them.

"I just can't do that," Vanellope said as she began to cry softly into her hands. It wasn't even that long ago that she was still just a glitch. An accident waiting to happen, as Taffyta put it. It hurt, what she was doing. In her mind she knew. She knew it would probably be alright, but there were too many painful memories. She had even tried to game over back then just to put it an end to it all. Of course, it never worked. She didn't know if she could EVER get over that. And certainly not this soon.

"I'm sorry..." Rancis choked out and wiped his eyes. He couldn't help but cry as well, as he imagined the same thing happening to him for 15 years. He felt like a horrible person for what he and the other racers had done to her. If only he had known she was their princess BEFORE... But that still didn't explain one thing. "T-then all those times we flirted with each other. What was that?" He sniffled then tried to fight an urge that came perhaps a little too easily to him: Blaming her.

"I- That wasn't flirting, was it?" Vanellope asked out of shock. Was she really flirting with people this whole time? She shuddered at the thought that she was unintentionally leading him and possibly others on all this time. What did Ralph think she meant all those times she joked around with him? "I treat Ralph the same exact way, don't I? That's just my personality..."

Rancis laughed sadly and wiped his eyes while slowly shaking his head. He felt like an idiot for reading too far into things. Seeing all the hints that weren't really there. All that time she was just a friend helping another friend through a hard time, wasn't she? "I'm sorry, Vanellope."

"It's okay, Rancis," Vanellope said with a sad, yet radiant smile that sent shivers down Rancis' spine.

Rancis felt another pang of sadness in his heart, but it strangely still felt... good. It was a warm, fluffy feeling, and he wanted to keep it there at all costs. He didn't know what he was missing in his life until he found her. It hurt him, knowing that he ruined such a beautiful future he could have had with her.

"We can still be friends, can't we?" Vanellope asked as she gave him a comforting hug. She hoped he wouldn't somehow read too far into that as well.

Rancis gratefully closed his eyes as he hugged her back and said, "Yeah." He sighed over her shoulder just before she ended the hug. It was a little too short, in Rancis' opinion, but that wasn't surprising. "If- If by any chance you ever change your mind about me- about US, could you let me know?" It didn't hurt to try.

"I don't know, Rancis," Vanellope said with a somewhat pained expression. So he still hadn't given up. In a way it just proved how much he really came to love her, but at the same time she was almost certain it would never happen. She didn't exactly like being put on the spot like this. It felt awkward. "I just don't want to disappoint you."

Rancis chuckled sadly and said, "Don't worry about disappointing me. I don't know if that's even possible. What we've got now is already pretty good for me, to be honest."

Vanellope grinned sheepishly. He hadn't given up. That much was obvious, but he was still an irreplaceable friend. "Me too, Butterfingers. Now, I'd better go get to my presidential duties." She couldn't help but laugh and fight the urge to roll her eyes at the word duty. "I'll see ya later!" She took a deep breath and glitched back over to her kart then drove off.

Rancis sighed, still lovestruck despite being the feelings of rejection plaguing him. "See ya..."


End file.
